Speed Action Falling
by alaskatrailmutt
Summary: Fai was ten seconds from ruining his career. Kurogane was seconds getting kicked out of school.He found the G with his index finger.He dropped the spray can.They both had called it an art. AU- KuroFai
1. Stepping across the spaces

**Disclaimer- Clamp owns the characters. Story might be alittle cross-overish with XXXHolic. I was actually really happy with this, i spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to go with this story, easily going to be multi-chapter. Might have to change the rating but right now T is just in case, i don't think anythings wrong with it so far. If the words after this are in bold, its Kuroganes story, **if its written normally its Fais story, _If its slannted its general imapact fluff._

The air was drenched, so saturated the C minor chord could almost been seen by listeners as a peachy, iridescent hue. The note hung for a beat too long, two beats, three, listeners began to look up from their seats. The bar was packed, it was a Sunday, and the atmosphere of lazy nostalgia clouding the room began to lift. Still the pianist hesitated, had he forgotten the rest? There had to be more to the song than a simple three measures, that was not a song, it was a start of a song. What was the pianist thinking at that moment? Was he panicking? Time stretched on; would he continue to play?

Fai began the song, the song he had wrote yesterday. When Fai played, he did not exist. The notes existed, his thoughts existed but, he himself did not exist. The emotions, all of him became the song. He rose from he seat starting, "I…" He looked apologetically at the crowd. He had played in the small rat hole bar for two years. Two year in Toronto, a few in Quebec, but most recently Toronto. Fai liked it here in Toronto, what was he doing?

**Most people believe mermaids are wonderful, astounding creatures. This was exactly why Kurogane hated being one. Everyone thought they should be nice, and timid, and pretty. Well sure anything, Kurogane was NOT going to be tolerated as being called "pretty". On top of that, being a mermaid was lethal. He only had a few years left.**

**"KUROGANE!" A professor screamed at the mythical-boy, who at the moment was not acting very mythical. "What on EARTH are you-?" Kurogane looked up, not caring. His eyes were not guilty, or passionate, or scared. The eyes were emotionless, calculating, cold, like rubies. The teacher might as well not have screamed at him because it made no difference, "What's it look like?" the words where even, final, absolute. Shivers ran down the teacher's spine.**

He was ten seconds from ruining his career.

**He was seconds getting kicked out of school.**

He found the G with his index finger.

**He dropped the spray can.**

_They both had called it an art._


	2. Hitting ground

_**I promise this will start meaning something plot wise very soon, still don't own anything. Word wasing being weird so had to edit twice. -_-**_

The next day Fai got up with the biggist headache. The sun was to bright, to colors where too vidivid and for some reason no one would leave him alone. His phone rang and Fai let it ring, only pausing a second to pick it up for the sake of making it cease rining. Today was going to be a hard day. Sakura's voice hung and filled up his the voice mail. Yukko's voice was left on voice mail. Two voice mails, ten voice mails, fifteen; day ws streaching into noon. "Go away." Fai's voice was husky. He lay in bed, left arm flung over his eyes. The sheets where drenched in sweat. Fai deliriously talked to the phone ringing, "go…God….Cut it out…" He had no desire to answer those voice mails or to hear those calling him. It was about last night. Last night was too much. It was all too, too much. The shadows grew longer across the walls.

**Kurogane couldn't hear anything else they said. He bounded down the side walk, sneaker tread scrapping as he bounded off the ground. Maybe the teacher hadn't recognized him, he had only attened the school for a month now.**

**He couldn't waste time with getting caught.**

How much more time could he waste before facing reality?

She was sitting at the bar waiting for him, Fai knew she would be. "Sakura." It was an annoyed greeting a, I wish you would leave me alone greeting. Sakura's back had been turned away from him, he head inclined half and inch left causing her bangs to fall across her green eyes. Fai stood three feet away, then two, half- afoot away. He stopped walking. His sleeves rolled up, crinkled dress shirt stood that half-foot away from her seat. His eyes were guarded. "You should sit down Fai." Her voice held hope. His lips parted, he whispered, "We can't do this." Fai's foot slid back, he began to turn. Seconds hung there.

**He was sprawled on the grass in the park; a needle was next to him. "Get up." The voice became more impatient, "Get up Kuro, you need to get up. Come on, less than five minutes are left." Syaoran knew, they were both going to fail. **

The bracelets clinked softly down her arm as she reached out her hand to him pivoting out of her seat. Her left foot caught the floor. Her knee pushed off. She slowly lifted into the air, she grabbed his arm. Would she make it to him? He was half turned looking away, she ripped into him He froze, and she hugged him.

**"Is it over? Am I dead?" Syaoran could only laugh at that. "Maybe, he proposed, we could be" And the smaller grabbed the tanners arm, and helped him up. The grass was soft and scratchy getting up. The two made eye contact. "They told me to come get you" Syaoran's voice was even. "I know." Kurogane replied, continuing "And so you did".**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Tsubasa, or the characters. I had A TON of ideas for this story, and now im to busy and brain fried to give it the time it deserves. :( It might take awhile to post, re-doing parts of it that seem weird. Somehow Sakura ended up dating Fai, lol by Yuko force. Wasn't quite right. Anyway, it's short but better than nothing.**

They both sat in offices, at this moment, in different parts of the city.

Fai was in what should have been described as a very nice closet, but was referred to as an office. Yuko's office. Yuko had opened the bar for over fifteen-years; long years that why exactly she still managed her was a mystery. Others who worked at the bar, as bartenders, as musicians, as cleaners, knew the boss as one collective word, mysterious. The office smelled like coffee, unlike the rest of the bar, and had honey oaked siding and a couch crammed in the center. Its blue cover was worn by those who slept during break and a low glass table sat in front of the couch closets to the door. The boss could usually be seen draped over the couch, smoking a long pipe doing tax forms and receipts.

The closet was where you went during break if Yuko was out, and got lectured if she was in. The blonde did NOT like the closet but, he had brought himself here. Sakura had hugged him. Fai had felt Sakura's breath across his ear. "Yuko wants to talk to you; she said last night was a disaster. She doesn't want to fire you. She wants to talk to you and know why you did it." Her voice was soft and caring and Fai didn't care how gentle it sounded. For some reason he wanted to very badly hit something, or to cry. He swallowed and inhaled to calm himself. The whole bar stared at him. In thirty minutes they needed a piano-man, but was it going to be him? "She told me she wouldn't fire you, she wants to understand." Fai didn't even understand why.

So Yuko was going to lecture him. Wonderful. All Fai knew was he was depressed, and he lost his feelings playing, and he stopped. The rest of the world might not believe such an illogical response form such a confident player, but it was the only response Fai had.

**Kurogane let Syaoran lead him from the city, back down narrow car filled streets, to the university. The deal had been that if Kurogane studied human behavior at the university, and he kept himself be examined and tested for research he could stay here in the surface world he loved. But he was human and five years of school made him want something more than just school and living here. "The headmaster wouldn't fire you even if he said one you broke the rules the deal was off." Syaoran held the glass campus door open so Kurogane could meet his fate. "He probably wouldn't get rid of you, you're valuable. But…Why did you do it?" Kurogane knew exactly why he did it, he couldn't believe he had.**


End file.
